USGC Engaged In NAFTA Talks

The sixth round of negotiations on the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is happening this week, with U.S. Grains Council (USGC) staff leadership on the ground in Montreal to share the importance of NAFTA relationships to exports of U.S. coarse grains and co-products.

UGSC董事Ryan Legrand和USGC贸易政策和生物技术总监Floyd Gaibler都参加了谈判。

盖布勒说：“普遍的观点是，这一轮被描绘成关键。”“希望我们将开始在有争议的规定上看到灵活性，新想法，反提案和其他选择浮出水面，并希望在谈判的步伐和实质上提供一些积极的方向。”

In addition to offering expert information directly to negotiators on the current status of the NAFTA markets and the development of business relationships under the agreement, Gaibler and LeGrand are on hand to speak with press and others gathered to follow the process so pivotal to the future of the North American economy.

Gaibler将在1月26日星期五举行的三边新闻发布会上发表讲话，其他农业团体则表现出对现代化和升级北美自由贸易协定的联合支持。该活动是由农民为自由贸易赞助的，该联盟致力于教育贸易对农业的重要性，这将一群农民带到蒙特利尔，以帮助分享贸易如何影响生产者到农场的水平。Gaibler还参加了1月26日星期五，农民为自由贸易组织的圆桌会议讨论。

自1994年生效以来，美国对加拿大和墨西哥的农业出口分别增加了两倍和五倍。实际上，在美国农场上每10英亩的土地中，就有1英亩的土地来喂食饥饿的加拿大人和墨西哥人。根据美国农业部（USDA）贸易数据和分析，在过去24个营销年度（1993/1994至2016/2017）中，各种形式的饲料谷物出口在加拿大和墨西哥的出口增长了300％（1993/1994至2016/2017）。

墨西哥is now the largest export market for U.S. corn, thanks to the favorable terms for agricultural trade in NAFTA and the Council’s work to capitalize on this market access with decades of efforts to capture and build new demand. Since the agreement went into effect, Mexican imports of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) have increased 945 percent, and Mexican imports of U.S. corn have grown 847 percent. Overall, Mexico purchased 547.2 million bushels of corn worth $2.5 billion last marketing year, setting a new record, in addition to 22.4 million bushels of sorghum and more DDGS and malting barley than any other country in the world.

Since NAFTA entered into force, exports of corn in all forms toCanadahave increased nearly five times, including a 23 percent increase in corn exports, a 17-fold increase for DDGS and corn gluten feed/meal and more than a 172-fold increase for ethanol. In 2016/2017, Canada was the second largest customer of U.S. barley and ethanol, sixth largest for DDGS and eighth largest for corn gluten feed/meal.

周二，该委员会在社交媒体外展日（使用#NaftaWorks主题标签）在社交媒体外展日中加入了广泛的农业，商业，工业和制造团体，旨在在下一轮谈判之前分享这些市场成功。这种和其他公共宣传是对正式会谈的持续参与的至关重要的补充，这些会谈将持续到春季。

Watch for an rundown of the full NAFTA round in next week’sGlobal Update. Until then, learn more about the Council’s work on NAFTA这里